Queensland Youth Orchestras and Brisbane Writers Festival proudly present...
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason: House of Music
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason + Ed Le Brocq
Old Museum Brisbane Concert Hall
#About the event
Duration: 60 minutes
Award winning author Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason opens up about her book HOUSE OF MUSIC, a moving and inspirational account of determination, music and love.
Seven brothers and sisters. All of them classically trained musicians. One was BBC Young Musician of the Year and performed for the Royal Family. The eldest has released her first album, showcasing the works of Clara Schumann. These siblings don’t come from the rarefied environment of elite music schools, but from a state comprehensive in Nottingham UK.
Meet the mother behind this extraordinary family ahead of their QPAC performance at this exclusive one-off event.
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason in conversation with Ed Le Brocq
#Artists
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason lives in Nottingham and is a former lecturer in English at The University of Birmingham. Her memoir, House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons, won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Storytelling Award in November 2021 where it was described as ‘a fresh, moving account of raising children and nurturing their creativity. It captures what’s sincerely human in classical music-making.’ It also appears on the 2022 Indie Book Awards shortlist (winner to be announced end of June). Kadiatu and her husband Stuart were given a Lifetime Award for Contribution to Children’s Arts at the 2018 J.M. Barrie Awards and in February 2022, on behalf of the family, they collected the prestigious ABO Award for commitment and inspiration given to other aspiring young musicians and fellow parents.
Kadiatu has seven children, all of whom are classical musicians and the family has been the subject of several documentaries. She is “Champion” of Music Mark, on the Board of Trustees for ESTA String Teachers Association, The Nottingham Education Trust, Real Talk TV, Music Masters, the National Children’s Orchestra and MISST – the Andrew Lloyd-Webber charity for music in secondary schools. She is on the advisory council for the Royal Philharmonic Society and the family is patron to Sinfonia Viva. Kadiatu is continuing to write and gives talks, interviews and lectures around the U.K. on diversity in classical music, music education, issues of race and inclusion, literature and parenting.
Ed Le Brocq
Ed Le Brocq is a writer, musician and broadcaster. He was born on the White Cliffs of Dover and began playing music when he was six years old. He studied music in Manchester, Berlin and London, played professionally in the UK and Hong Kong and moved to Australia in 2003. Ed is the presenter of ABC Classic’s Weekend Breakfast.
Ed has written five books, including Cadence, about his journey by bicycle from England to Hong Kong with only a violin for company, Danger Music, describing his year teaching music in Afghanistan, and Sound Bites, a romp through music history. Ed’s books have been shortlisted for several prestigious awards, including the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and the Age Book of the Year.
Ed was born Emma, and transitioned just before his fiftieth birthday. Better late than never.
